Sophomore second baseman Andrew Snow's walk-off single in the bottom of the ninth inning pushed ASU baseball over Meiji University (Tokyo) 4-3 in Tuesday's exhibition game at Phoenix Muni.
The Sun Devils held a 3-2 lead in the top of the ninth, but a sacrifice fly tied the game. Although the game did not officially count, it was ASU's (13-3) fourth consecutive walk-off win.
The plan entering the game was to get some of the main starters some rest. Junior shortstop Colby Woodmansee, junior first baseman David Greer and junior catcher Brian Serven all sat out.
A win was still nice, though.
"You want to win the baseball game because winning is winning whether it counts in the win column or not," head coach Tracy Smith said.
Sophomore Coltin Gerhart went 4-for-5 with an RBI and two runs scored. And while it was only an exhibition, his performance benefitted his case for another opportunity in the revolving door that has become left field. The Sun Devils have fielded Gerhart, junior Daniel Williams, freshman Tyler Williams and sophomore Ryan Lillard at the position, but the door is open.
"I think (Gerhart) made a statement tonight with the way he played," Smith said. "He put together good at-bats. That was quality pitching. The two arms they threw at us tonight could pitch for any team in the country, so that was good. He performed well against good competition on the mound."
Freshman righty Fitz Stadler received the start on the mound, but ASU used 10 other pitchers. It was an experimentation period to see how the young arms performed heading into conference play.
Smith said Stadler and fellow freshmen Zach Dixon, Gio Lopez and James Ryan stood out on Tuesday night.
"There's still roles to be had because we're still banged up on the mound a bit," Smith said, "We're looking at guys that are going to be successful in the (Pac-12). You're going to be successful in the (Pac-12) by throwing strikes and changing speeds with multiple pitches."
The night also offered some first-hand looks into some of the varying styles of play between teams from two different countries.
Meiji (5-10) used wooden bats instead of aluminum, putting them at a bit of a disadvantage.
"There's more of a bunting game I think for them, the hit and run bunting game, which I think they did a good job of that," Smith said. "Their pitching I thought was fantastic. I'd like those two guys."
ASU walked 10 men, but a considerable amount of the walks came from players who don't pitch on the weekends, Smith said.
The Sun Devils open conference play on Friday in Corvallis, Oregon, against No. 4 Oregon State, who was projected to win the conference in the preseason coaches poll.
Reach the reporter at Justin.Toscano@asu.edu or on Twitter @justintoscano3.
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